Sleep Well
by Nonexistentrose
Summary: Fenris has come down with a bad case of the sniffles and it's up to Hawke to fix him up the old fashioned way. Oneshot. Fem!MageHawke/Fenris. I do not own Dragon Age or any of its characters. Unfortunately.


Fenris was late.

To Lucetta Hawke, the act of one of her companions being late was not so unusual. Anders would get caught up treating a patient at his clinic, Sebastian would lose track of time at the chantry, or Isabela would forget a meeting altogether, but Fenris was different. Fenris was never late.

In response to this, instead of waiting a while longer at her estate, Lucetta readied herself and left for his mansion. As she crossed Hightown, she kept a wary eye out for her tattooed elf, but found no trace of him. She reached the dilapidated manor and let herself in as usual. Everything within was still, and for a moment she wondered if perhaps he wasn't home at all. Suddenly a muffled sound came from his room in the back of the decrepit hall and a rat darted across her feet. She flinched, nose wrinkled in disgust at the state of the place. Fenris never bothered to clean it and Lucetta had previously threatened never to visit again before he finally removed the rotting slaver corpses littering the entry hall and great room.

"Fenris?" She called out, but received no response. She climbed the stairs up to his room and knocked lightly on the closed door.

"Leave me." The elf's voice spoke through the thick wood, but it sounded decidedly strange.

"Fenris, is that you? Are you alright?"

"I said leave me!" He repeated, followed by several light coughs. Regardless of his protests, Lucetta was no fool. She carefully opened the door and slipped in to find her companion curled up into a ball atop his bed. An old blanket wrapped every part of him but a tuft of white hair that stuck out the top and his toes that peeked under the edge.

"Don't you ever listen?" Fenris's voice was muffled by the blanket. He didn't look up.

Ignoring his question, Lucetta asked one of her own, "What's wrong, Fenris?" She could venture a guess, but she wanted the answer to come from him.

"Nothing is wrong." He snapped, but she could hear now that his voice was distorted by more than the blanket. She reached down and pulled the cloth gently away from his face to find her elvhen companion looking utterly miserable. His nose was red and runny and his eyes were full of distress. Lucetta touched his forehead gently and despite the great heat on his brow, she could see him visibly shivering with cold. Her ever strong elvhen warrior had come down with a bad case of the sniffles.

"I… could heal you quite easily, Fen." She offered tentatively, but Fenris replied with the usual response.

"Keep your filthy magic away from me."

"You're insufferable." Lucetta sighed. She didn't ask if he needed help, he would say no regardless of the truth and she would ignore his refusal. He sneezed heavily into a handkerchief and moaned softly, covering his head once more with his blanket. Crossing over to the fireplace, Lucetta stoked the dying embers back up to a steady flame then found a few more blankets for her friend.

"Fenris, you need to get into the bed, not just on it." She coaxed the wrapped up elf. He merely grunted, making no effort to move. She sighed, gently unwrapping him from his cocoon. He protested at first, but gave up quickly with the realization of his body's current weakness. Once she had peeled away the cloth blanket, she could see he was sweating profusely in spite of his constant shivering. He was wearing only leggings and his body's trembling intensified as she unraveled him, wrapping his arms tightly around his bare torso.

"Maker's breath…" She muttered, using the blanket to dab away the sweat coating his skin. "How are you feeling?" She pressed, his condition bringing her more than a light concern.

"C-Cold…" he stuttered through a trembling jaw. Lucetta dried his brow carefully and gently stretched him down onto the bed, tossing the soaked blanket and covering him in fresh ones. He curled up once more underneath the covers, quiet coughs racking his slender frame. She longed to wrap her arms around the sick man until he stopped shivering. It pained her to see him in this state while knowing how easily she could heal him with magic. _If only he wasn't so stubborn. _She thought to herself.

Now that Fenris was better settled, Lucetta began boiling water to make him some elfroot tea. While she waited, she happily set about tidying up his insufferably messy room; fixing knocked over furniture, sweeping up dirt and glass, sealing wine bottles and gathering up empty ones. As she worked, she quietly sang a tune to keep her mind occupied: a lullaby her mother used to sing when she was a young child. Lucetta had sung the same song to her younger sister Bethany and when they had grown, they had sung the sweet melody together on warm summer days, planting flowers in the garden or on a trip to the market. She felt tears etch tracks down her cheeks and she stopped singing, wiping them away furiously. The silence that followed felt deafening.

"You have a beautiful voice."

Lucetta jumped in surprise, turning around to find Fenris sitting up in bed. "I thought you were asleep." She accused.

"I wasn't."

"You should be," She snapped, a flustered blush rising to her cheeks in embarrassment. The water had begun to boil over the fire and she quickly busied herself with preparing the tea. She could feel Fenris's viridian eyes watching her as she pretended to be busy. She finished the tea and poured some into a mug for him. Pulling up a chair next to her companion's bed, Lucetta gently held up his head and let the elf take careful sips of the hot liquid. His shivering very gradually faded as he drank. She set the cup aside and avoided his eyes.

"What song were you singing?" Fenris asked, his voice sounding drowsier than before. Lucetta hesitated, not entirely sure if she wanted to bring up such memories, but Fenris had been through much worse than she and had still told her everything. He had been partially intoxicated the majority of the time, but he still told her nonetheless.

"It was a lullaby my mother used to sing to me when I was sick or had… nightmares." She said, still avoiding Fenris's eyes. "She used to tell me it was okay to be afraid, but that it would never stop me from doing what was right. She told me if I was ever afraid, I could sing and know I was never alone." Lucetta stopped, unable to continue. Images of her mother and sister swam in her head; happy, hopeful, distressed, and dying. The sight of her mother's violated body in the possession of the blood mage that killed her never left her mind, nor did Bethany's broken and bloodied form lying motionless in the dirt.

Fenris had been listening intently, but she could see through his tired eyes how much of a struggle it was to do so.

"When we found out my sister Bethany was a mage as well, I taught her the lullaby and we used to sing it together often before she was… killed." Lucetta swallowed a lump in her throat.

"I… I am very sorry for your loss." Fenris said and she smiled weakly.

"I haven't sung my mother's lullaby for a very long time." She said, "The last time was in Lothering, before the darkspawn." She thought back to her life in Lothering; so peaceful and content. Even when their father had died, they were able to hold a proper funeral. They had friends close by and even in death there could be a bright light in those left in life. "Almost five years…" Her voice was soft with reminiscence.

"Thank you, Hawke. For being here."

She reached down, brushing wispy white hairs from his eyes and caressing his face. "Sleep, Fenris. You need your rest."

His eyes softened with affection in a way that always made Lucetta's heart melt as they slowly closed. She sang to him as he fell into sleep.

"Sleep well."


End file.
